Category: Islamists – Jihadists

Some say that acts of terrorism such as we saw in Nice, France on July 14th or on a train in Germany on July 18th, and have seen in recent days in Tel Aviv, Brussels, Paris, Orlando, San Bernardino, Istanbul, and Lahore were never commanded by Allah – despite the fact that numerous Islamic texts (Qu’uran, Hadiths, Tafsirs) say otherwise. In this article, we look at terrorism in light of what Islamic texts say and the difference between how radical Islamists (Jihadis) interpret those texts and how moderate Muslims do.

As mentioned in an earlier post, moderate Muslims define the violent passages of Islamic texts in the context of less violent ones, concluding that violent ones should not be taken literally. Radical Islamists / Jihadis determine which Islamic texts apply and what violent behaviour is appropriate.

So lets look at a few texts that radical Islamists act upon, in accordance with the Doctrine of Abrogation (see earlier post, “A Difference of Interpretation – the distinction between moderate Muslims and Jihadis“).

(1) Allah commanded Muhammed to fight against unbelievers;

“It is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and believe in me (that) I am the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought. And when they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.”

Sahih Muslim, The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman), Book 1: Hadith 33:31

“It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.”

Sahih Muslim, The Book of Faith (Kitab Al-Iman), Book 1: Hadith 33:33

(2) Muhammed himself commanded Muslims to fight against infidels, idolaters, and unbelievers.

“Slay the idolaters wherever you find them”

Qur’an 9:5

“Fight those who believe not in Allah”

Qur’an 9:29

The Tafsir on Qur’an 9:30 says that Allah encourages fighting Jews and Christians;

“Fighting the Jews and Christians is legislated because they are idolaters and disbelievers. Allah the Exalted encourages the believers to fight the polytheists, disbelieving Jews and Christians, who uttered this terrible statement and utter lies against Allah, the Exalted. As for the Jews, they claimed that Uzayr was the son of God, Allah is free of what they attribute to Him. As for the misguidance of Christians over Isa, it is obvious.”

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (on Qur’an 9:30)

Jews and Christians are referred in many Islamic texts as “People of the Book” and are considered “unbelievers” and the Qu’uran, Hadiths, and Tafsirs have much to say about how they are to be treated.

In Muslim lands operating under Sharia [Islamic] law, Jews and Christians (1) may be given the choice to pay the Jiziya tax (ayearly tax historically levied by Islamic states on certain non-Muslim subjects) which would then make them dhimmis (second class citizens that give deference to the Muslim majority and live under Islamic law (Sharia) or (2) they may be killed.

Islamic texts command Muslims to fight “polytheists” – which explains the massacre of Yazidi at Sinjar Mountain, in Iraq in August 2014. Radical Islamists consider Yazidi polytheists, along with Hindus and Buddists. They also view Christians who call Jesus “God” to be “polytheists“, because the fundamental tenant of Islam, the Shahada says;

“There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”.

By calling Jesus “God”, and calling the Holy Spirit “God”, Christians violate the first shahada (also called the tahlīl), i.e. “there is no god but Allah”, making Christians “polytheists”.

“Idolaters” include people such as Hindus and Buddhists, and can include Yazidi and Christians (if they follow a tradition that includes carved images of Biblical figures).

What about Jihad?

Jihad (Arabic جهاد‎‎) means to “strive, apply oneself, struggling, and persevere” and is viewed very differently by radical Islamists / Jihadis and moderate Muslims. More on that below.

Historically, different Islamic scholars defined “jihad” differently, for example, Ibn Rushd (1126 – 1198 CE) defined 4 types of jihad; (i) by the heart, (ii) by the tongue, (iii) by the hand and (iv) by the sword”. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1292–1350 CE) defined 4 types of jihad as being (i) against oneself, (ii) against Satan, (iii) against disbelievers and (iv) against the “hypocrites”.

Today, “jihad” is defined with respect to its two parts;

(1) the “greater jihad“: which is seen as an inner spiritual struggle.

(2) the “lesser jihad“: which is seen as an outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam and which may take a violent or non-violent form.

Moderate Muslims focus on the internal spiritual struggleto be a “good Muslim” (“greater jihad“) and on performing the Five Pillars of Islam;

Five Pillars of Islam

(1) voluntary declaration of the Shahada (“there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”).

(3) Sawm – obligatory fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan.

(4) Zakah – compulsory annual welfare contribution from annual savings i.e. 2.5% of cash and precious metals and jewellery and a percentage of animals and crops. This is not “charity”; charity is optional, however the zakah can be spent on helping the poor, the oppressed, or supporting Islamic organizations.

(5) Hajj – fulfilling the obligation to make the pilgrimage to “the house of Allah” in Mecca, Saudi Arabia at least once during one’s life, provided there is the means to do so.

The Lesser Jihad

As we mentioned in a previous post, moderate Muslims define the violent passages of Islamic texts in the context of less violent ones, concluding that violent ones should not be taken literally. As a result, “lesser jihad“, the outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam may be expressed as educating non-Muslims about Islam, or by supporting Islamic groups that help Muslims in countries where they are felt to be oppressed.

For radical Islamists / Jihadis, the Doctrine of Abrogation determines which passages of Islamic texts apply and defines (1) what “outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam” (“lesser jihad”) ‘looks like’ and (2) who those enemies of Islam are.

It looks like Nice, France and Germany.

It looks like Orlando and Tel Aviv.

It look like Brussels and Paris.

It looks like San Bernardino, Istanbul and Lahore.

For radical Islamists, the enemies of Islam are the unbelievers, idolaters, polytheists and infidels; Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Yazidi and moderate Muslims. It is the lesbian, gay, transgender and queer. It is anyone who would be out celebrating democracy and freedom on Bastille Day, the 4th of July and on Canada Day – rather than voluntarily submitting to the Islamic rule of a Caliphate and the dictates of Sharia law.

Introduction: Moderate Muslims, particularly those in the West, interpret their religious texts differently from Jihadis. Moderate Muslims view passages that call for killing, beheading or crucifixion of unbelievers, infidels and hypocrites in light of other passages and conclude as a result, the violent passages cannot be interpreted literally. Jihadis, on the other hand,hold to a form of interpretation that requires them to replace earlier passages(often quoted by moderate Muslims) with later passages. As a result, moderate Muslims are moderate and Jihadis are not. Stemming from these differences, moderate Muslims are viewed as infidels by Jihadis.

Moderate Muslims

Moderate Muslims often use passages such as these to temper harsher passages;

“You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion”

Qur’an 109:6

“There is no compulsion in religion”

Qur’an 2:256

To moderate Muslims, passages in the Qur’an calling for the killing of unbelievers are not interpreted literally because the Qur’an says that “there’s no compulsion in religion“.

When presented with passages such these;

“Slay the idolaters wherever you find them”

Qur’an 9:5

“Fight those who believe not in Allah”

Qur’an 9:29

. . .moderate Muslims will use verses such as those mentioned above or others in the Qur’an, to justify arriving at the conclusion that these violent passages should not be interpreted literally.

What separates moderates from Jihadis, however is literally adifference of interpretation.

Jihadis and the Doctrine of Abrogation; later revelation replaces earlier revelation

The Doctrine of Abrogation(based on Qur’an 2:106 and Qur’an 16:101) requires that when Muslims are faced with conflicting commands, they are to determine which verse was revealed last, as the verse that was revealed last abrogatesorcancelstheearlier revelation.

This doctrine is based on these two passages;

“Whatever verse we shall abrogate, or cause [thee] to forget, we will bring a better than it, or one like unto it. Dost thou not know that God is almighty?”

Qur’an 2:106

“When We substitute one revelation for another—and God knows best what He reveals (in stages)—they say, “Thou art but a forger”: but most of them understand not.”

Qur’an 16:101

The Doctrine of Abrogation requires a Muslim to replaceearlier passages – often quoted by moderate Muslimswith later passages,including those that call for subjugation, or killing in the form of beheading or crucifixion of unbelievers, infidels and hypocrites, including Jews and Christians.

The Doctrine of Abrogation is also why earlier passages (whichindicate that Muslims are to be friendly to Jews and Christians) are to be replaced with later passages that require Christians and Jews to viewed as inferior,pay the Jizyah (a payment in exchange for not being killed), or be killed.

Here are an example of some passages indicating that “People of the Book“, Jews and Christians are to be viewed as inferior;

“O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.”

Qur’an 5:51

“Those who reject (Truth), among the People of the Book and among the Polytheists, will be in Hell-Fire, to dwell therein. They are the worst of creatures.”

Qur’an 98:6

“Muhammad said: “Do not give the People of the Book the greeting first. Force them to the narrowest part of the road.”

Al-Bukhari, Al-Adab al-Mufrad 1103

Here is the passage requiring the paying of the Jizyah;

“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”

Qur’an 9:29

A few of the passages calling on Jews and Christians and others to be killed, are addressed below.

Defensive Jihad and Offensive Jihad

Both moderate Muslims and Jihadis are in agreement that they are called to engage in defensive Jihad in order todefend the Islamic community;

“Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them; Those who have been expelled from their homes without a just cause except that they say: our Lord is Allah. . .”

Qur’an 22:39-40

. . .however, how moderate Muslims and Jihadis interpret the application of this, is quite different.

Moderate Muslims believe that in most cases, non-violent forms of defensive jihad are appropriate, such as defending their faith and community in writing, speaking and through education. [The practice of Taqiyya (also spelled taqiya, taqiyah, or taqiyyah), which is deliberate deception, is permitted in Islam to protect the Muslim community and is a form of Defensive Jihad. This is the topic of the next article.]

Non-moderate Muslims view defensive Jihad quite differently. Defensive jihad is viewed as insufficient and use of offensive jihad, necessary. Offensive Jihad is used by Jihadis in response to a perceived threat to the Islamic community and that ‘threat’ is not limited to physical harm. It could be a verbal threat, some form of criticism of their religion or mocking of their prophet. It is important to understand that a foreign army setting foot in a Muslim land (such as the US in Afghanistan) is perceived to be the same degree of threat as a cartoon depicting their prophet, and warrant the same type of response. Hence, Charlie Hebdo.

Utilizing violence in defense of the Islamic community is considered justified, as indicated in the previous article, which referred to matter that;

14%of Muslims in the US said (2011) that some form of violence against civiliansin the name of Islam is justified;

7%said that suicide bombings are sometimes justified;

1%said that suicide bombings are often justified in these circumstances.

Moderate Muslims insist that Islam only allows defensive fighting, however the problem lies in that according to Jihadi interpretation, later revelations calling for offensive jihadabrogate calls to defensive jihad, where they conflict.

Later textssay that those who die without having engaged in offensive jihad will be found to be “deficient” and “hypocrites”;

“The Prophet said: “Whoever dies without having fought or having thought of fighting, he dies on one of the branches of hypocrisy.”

Sunan An-Nasa’i 3099

“The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever meets Allah with no mark on him (as a result of fighting) in His cause, he will meet Him with a deficiency.”

Sunan Ibn Majah 2763

In later texts, Muslims are commanded to engage in offensive Jihad against those who don’t believe in Islam;

“Muhammad said: “I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), and whoever said La ilaha illahllah, Allah will save his property and his life from me.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 6924

“Muhammad said: “I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah.”

Sahih Muslim 30

Specifically, Muslims are commanded to engage inoffensive Jihad against “People of the Book“ – JewsandChristians;

“Fighting the Jews and Christians is legislated because they are idolatersand disbelievers. Allahthe Exalted encourages the believers to fight the polytheists, disbelieving Jews and Christians, who uttered this terrible statement and utter lies against Allah, the Exalted. As for the Jews, they claimed that Uzayr was the son of God, Allah is free of what they attribute to Him. As for the misguidance of Christians over Isa, it is obvious.”

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (on Qur’an 9:30)

Finally, Muslims are commanded to kill any Muslim who coverts to any other religion;

[adapted from materials by David Wood from Answering Muslims, www.answeringmuslims.com]

Summary

Moderates Muslims view passages that call for killing, beheading or crucifixion of unbelievers, infidels and hypocrites in light of other passages, and conclude that the violent passages cannot be interpreted literally. Jihadis hold to a form of interpretation that requires them to replace earlier passageswith later passages.

Some Final Thoughts…

Very important to understand is thatMuslims are permitted, even encouraged to practice something call taqiyya; which is the use of deliberate deception for the purpose of protecting the Islamic community or oneself. If you don’t know what taqiyya is and who Muslims are encourage to practice taqiyya with, please click here to read the third article in this series: http://www.morehasbara.com/2016/06/15/taqiyya-the-deliberate-deception-of-islam/

When Islamic terrorists strike, there are two common reactions on social media;

People making:

“allMuslims” statements

“most Muslims are peaceful” statements

Taking the position that99%* of Muslims are peaceful as based on current data from Pew Research Center, how many is 1% of Muslimsandwhat does that number “look like” ?

Firstly, is 1% a reasonable number?

According to Pew Research Center;

“Generally, Muslims mostly say that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam are rarely or never justified, including 92% in Indonesia and 91% in Iraq. In the United States, a 2011 survey found that 86%* of Muslims say that such tactics are rarely or never justified. An additional 7% say suicide bombings are sometimes justified and 1% say they are often justified in these circumstances.

* Looking at this same data from a different perspective, in 2011, 14% of Muslims in the United States said that some form of violence against civilians in the name of Islam is justified, 7% said that suicide bombings are sometimes justified and 1% said that suicide bombings are often justified in these circumstances.

“most people in several countries with significant Muslim populations have an unfavorable view of ISIS, including virtually all respondents in Lebanon and 94% in Jordan. Relatively small shares say they see ISIS favorably.

Favorable views of ISIS are somewhat higher in Nigeria (14%) than most other nations.

In a few countries, a quarter or more of Muslims say that these acts of violence are at least sometimes justified, including 40% in the Palestinian territories, 39% in Afghanistan, 29% in Egypt and 26% in Bangladesh.

* That is, 6% -71% of Muslims in the following countries or territories had a “favorable view of ISIS”: 6%of Muslims in Jordan, 60%of Muslims in the Palestinian territories (Gaza and the West Bank), 60%of Muslims in Afghanistan and 71% of Muslims in Egypt.

*by 2020 (4 years from now), 1/4 (24.9%) of the world’s population of 7.7 billion people will be Muslim

1% of 17.2 Billion Muslims worldwide= 17.2 million people

5. What does 17.2 million people “look like”? How big is that?

a. it is12x the size of the entire active enlistedUS Armed Forces,including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard (2013 data)

b. it isalmost half the size of the entire population of Canada (3rd quarter data, 2015)

Represented visually:

Assuming 99% of Muslims are peaceful – how many is 1%?

What Jihadi groups could this 1% consider supporting (financially or actively)?

Assuming, as we have, that 99% of Muslims are peaceful, the number of people that would consider supporting Jihadi groups, either financially or actively is ~ 17 Million individuals.

We saw in Paris what 5 Jihadi terrorists could do. We saw in Tel Aviv what 2 Hamas operatives could do. We saw in Orlando what 1 person with radicalized ideology could do. 17.2 Million people willing to support some form of Offensive Jihad, is a lot of people.

Some Final Thoughts…

Did you know that allMuslims are permitted, even encouraged to practice something call taqiyya; which is the use of deliberate deception for the purpose of protecting the Islamic community or oneself? If you don’t know what taqiyya is, and who both Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims are encourage to use it with, and why, please click here to read the third article in this series: http://www.morehasbara.com/2016/06/15/taqiyya-the-deliberate-deception-of-islam/

Introduction:

To understand the current situation in Israel one needs to understand the two main contrasting factions amongst the Arab Palestinians; the (1) secular nationalists and the (2) Islamist / Jihadists, such as Hamas.

1. The secular nationalist Palestinian groups in Israel include Fatah, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) and their founder Yasser Arafat and current chairman, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).

2. The Islamist Jihadi factions in Israel are fundamentally opposed to the very existence of Israel and seek its annihilation. The main Islamists group in Israel is Hamas, which is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and which rules the Gaza Strip. Other groups in operation in the ‘West Bank’ include Islamic Jihad, and the al-asqa Martyrs Brigade.

In this article we trace the modern radical Islamist movement to its roots in a group known as The Muslim Brotherhood, as well elaborate on the ideology of this group. We then tie this into Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which rules in Gaza.

In a later article on the Palestinian’s claim to be descended from the Philistines, we begin to trace the secular nationalists / Pan-Arabists.

In Israel, as elsewhere in the world, each Islamist / Jihadi group has their own ‘flavour’ of radical Islam but what they have in common is roots in the parent group called the Muslim Brotherhood (founded in the 1920’s). To understand radical Islam in any of its manifestations worldwide, including Hamas in Israel, necessitates understanding the origins of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Sheikh Hassan al-Banna and is a revolutionary fundamentalist movement that exists to restore the caliphate (which had ceased to exist under the Ottoman Turks) and impose strict shariah (Islamist) law in Muslim lands . If a land is not Islamic, the goal of the Brotherhood is to conquer it and make it Islamic . The larger goal is to do so throughout the world — country by country. Their goal is nothing less than world domination of Islam by the restored caliphate.

The Muslim Brotherhood is without a doubt, the most important Islamic organization in the world.

The Muslim Brotherhood slogan is:

“Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Allahu akbar!”

What is the Caliphate?

The caliphate (Arabic: خِلافة khilāfa) is a form of Islamic government led by a caliph who is considered to be the political and religious successor to the prophet Muhammad and leader of the entire Muslim community. The caliphate administer everything according to the teachings of Mohammed under Sharia law.

Here is a quote by its founder, Hassan al-Banna:

“It is in the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”

~Hassan al-Banna, Muslim Brotherhood founder

[source: The Muslim Brotherhood,” The Investigative Project on Terrorism, http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/173]

Sharia Law

Sharia ( meaning “way” and “road”) developed early on in Islamic conquests of lands as a means to oversee their rule. It is important to understand that in Islam, there is no distinction between politics and religion. Courts in Islamic ruled lands were all conducted according to Sharia dictates.

The Caliph, according to Sharia was obligated to wage war, or jihad, on his non-Muslim neighbors.

Al-Banna’s Egypt

The Egypt that al-Banna lived in, while Muslim in its roots, had for two hundred years become very westernized. Most Egyptians knew little more about Islam than the five pillars (faith, prayer, giving charity, fasting during Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime).

Al-Banna and his followers realized that at least at first their message needed to mobilize Muslims and as such involved both activism and propaganda. This combined role resulted in a complex, multi-layered organization attracting members from all walks of life — from the poor labourer to the most educated professional. The Muslim Brotherhood involved themselves in existing organizations; politicized them, Islamized them and finally mobilized them but no matter how humanitarian or social the group, Banna’s message and that of the Muslim Brotherhood’s, always used Islamic terms. Health-related issues, education and nationalism were all articulated through an Islamic framework. It was in this way that the Muslim Brotherhood very subtly Islamized the local worldview — starting initially in Egypt.

One of the early leaders in the Muslim Brotherhood, was none other than Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who in 1941 aligned himself with the Nazis during the war (see 2 previous posts on al-Husseini, as well as upcoming articles). The Mufti became known as the Arab Fuhrer, leading ~ 30,000 Muslim Nazis during WWII, and was closely affiliated with infamous Nazi, Heinrich Himmler. Al-Husseini’s experience in heading Arabic Nazi propaganda during WWII became very helpful to the Muslim Brotherhood.

It was Al-Banna’s ultimate goal to restore the caliphate and so major themes of his talks included reference to the loss of the caliphate, the weakness of the fragmented Islamic world, and the need to restore the caliphate and enforce Sharia law, as this was the Islamic “way,”. In all of their activities, this was always portrayed as the basis to justice. In impassioned speeches directed at Muslims, al-Banna described the fate expected for heretics and the need for Muslims to return to their purest religious roots, to re-establish the caliphate and resume the great and final holy war, or jihad against the non-Muslim world.

Al-Banna is credited with restoring some traditional practices and terminology. For example, the word jihad which embodied the idea of aspiration, self-strengthening, or making an effort — a form of ‘striving’ to be a better Muslim had come to be thought of as an intellectual and personal pursuit, not necessarily a violent activity. Al-Banna, however insisted that ‘jihad is an instrument in order to battle against the enemy‘ and defined the enemy as non-Muslims who were occupying Muslim lands — such as the British in Egypt and the Jews in ‘Palestine’. Thus, al-Banna insisted that Muslims were duty-bound to help the Palestinians fight the Jews and prevent them from usurping Muslim territory.

Creation of the Islamic Martyr

Al-Banna claimed that if a Muslim were to die in the ‘holy cause’ of liberating Muslim land from occupiers (i.e. jihad) such as the Jews in Palestine, that it would be considered the death of a martyr (Arabic, ‘shaheed’) and they would be rewarded by going straight to Paradise.

Believing al-Banna, the people volunteered for the Muslim Brotherhood and were not afraid to die — in fact, were eager to martyr themselves for the cause of Islam and take the short cut from this tormenting life to Paradise.

The Marriage of Nazism and Radical Islam in Egypt

In the early 1950’s, a blend of Nazi ideology and Muslim-based hatred of Jews, inspired by the preaching of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassanal-Banna and former Nazi and Grand Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini (who died in 1974) began to grow in influence, most notably under a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb. More on Qutb, below.

Qutb wrote Our Struggle Against the Jews, putting the blame for the root of all evil on the Jewish people. The Jews, Qutb maintained, were responsible for moral decay, materialism and democratic individualism and as such were the perpetual enemies of Islam. The essay was distributed in millions of copies throughout the Islamic world and forms a central part of Islamist Anti-Jewish ideology, today.

After completing some study in the US, Qutb returned to Egypt, joined the Muslim Brotherhood and became editor-in-chief of its weekly publication called al-ikhwan al-Muslimin and later headed its propaganda section. He soon rose to the highest levels of leadership in the Muslim Brotherhood, continuing to spread Islamic hatred of Jews to others.

Qutb – Father of the Islamist / Jihadi Movement

Sayyid Qutb is often viewed as the “father of modern Islamism” and the one who popularized “the jihadi movement“.

Qutb wrote prolifically and voluminously producing two Islamist classics still in wide circulation in Islamist / jihadi groups.
His large multi-volume work translated in English would be called “In the Shade of the Quran” and the second is a short book which translates as “Sign Posts” and captures the step by step or ‘stage’ approach of the Muslim Brotherhood.

While Qutb stressed the need for ‘stages’ on one hand, he argued strongly that the Islamic world was not Islamic enough and that ultimately only jihad could overthrow “jahiliyya” — which is the state of unbelief and ignorance used to describes the non-Muslim world. This same term is used for the period of ignorance prior to the revelations given to the prophet Mohammed.

Three basic themes emerge from Qutb’s writings which are very important to understand if one is to understand radical Islam / Jihadism.

Three Fundamentals of Islamism / Jihadism

[source: National Commission on Terror Attacks Against the United States; http://www.911commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch2.htm]

According to Qutb and adopted by Islamist / Jihadi groups are the following three fundamentals;

1.The world is beset with barbarism, licentiousness and unbelief (“jahiliyya”) and that humans can only choose only between Islam and jahiliyya.

2. More people, including Muslims, are attracted to jahiliyya and its material comforts than to ‘true’ Islam and as a result jahiliyya could triumph over Islam.

3. There is no middle ground in the struggle between jahilyya and true Islam and all Muslims must take up arms in this fight. Any Muslim who rejects these ideas is to be considered no different than any other nonbeliever and is worthy of destruction.

Goal of Islamist / Jihadi Groups

The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist / Jihadi groups are preparing the way for the coming of the Caliphate; which judging from history is much more problematic than any single Islamic state or terrorist organization.

History stands as evidence that all Islamic conquests of non-Muslim, lands occurred under caliphates, including the Umayyad, Abbasid and the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

There is no distinction between religion and politics; this is very difficult for people in the West who for centuries have separated religion from politics. The Muslim Brotherhood (and its offshoots, such as Hamas in Gaza) are both a political group and a religious group.

Historically and doctrinally, Islam is politics.

The idea of sharia law is the Islamic way of conducting one’s affairs and governs every aspect of the believer’s life (including the Islamic five categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, not recommended, forbidden).

2. Muslim authorities are either ‘legitimate’ or ‘illegitimate’ based on whether they enforce Sharia law on society or not.

The importance of this should not be overlooked as this has historically been what motivates various Islamist and jihadi group, including the Muslim Brotherhood to support or oppose ruling governments or regimes of even so-called Muslim nations. If those ruling parties are not enforcing Sharia law in their society, they are deemed to be ‘illegitimate’.

3. The primary goal of all Islamist and jihadi groups the world over is the establishment of “Allah’s rule” on earth.

This has been the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal from it’s inception and is the goal of all Islamist and jihadi groups from al-Qaida, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, Hamas — you name it.

The Only Difference is Tactics

The primary difference between the more violent Islamists and jihadists with the more ‘moderate’ Muslim Brotherhood has only to do with tactics. That is not to say, the Muslim Brotherhood is not a terrorist organization. The Muslim Brotherhood most definitely advocates violent jihad:

“The change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life”

All Islamist and jihadi groups share the primary vision of the establishment, enforcement and spread of Sharia law the world over.

The only difference is how they go about it.

But…Most Muslims are Peaceful

We’ve heard people say that Islam is a ‘peaceful religion” and that it is only a handful of radicals that are Islamists / Jihadist. As we elaborated on in a previous article, assuming that 90% of the world’s Muslims are peaceful (against armed Jihad), how may Muslims make up the remaining 10% (Jihadi / Islamists)?

Current estimates are that there are 1.57 billion Muslims worldwide of which 80 – 85% are Sunni. Sunnis are divided into 3 streams; Political, MissionaryandJihadi. Assuming that 90% of Sunnis are non-Jihadi leaves 10% of Sunnis as Jihadi, although many experts say that number is on the rise. If only 10% of Muslims are Jihadi and looking at only Sunnis (which represent 80 – 85% of Muslims), the number of Jihadis Sunnis totals 125,600,000 – 133,450,000 people…125.6 million – 133.5 million people. Let’s round that number off to 130 million Muslims who believe and support armed Jihad.

To envision how many 130 million Jihadis are, it is 35 times the number of individuals in the entire US Armed Forces (including the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard) or 3 1/2 times bigger than the entire population of Canada! Remember, that is assuming 90% of the world’s Muslims are peaceful.

It is important to know that just because a Muslim says they are peaceful, does not make it so becauseintrinsic to Islam is the doctrine of lying to non-Muslims. Yes, you read that right. It is called ‘taqiya‘.

Taqiya – Mandate to Lie to non-Muslims

Many people do not realize that entrenched in Islam itself is the concept or ‘taqiyya‘ which is an Islamic legal term under Sharia law which defines when a Muslim should lie.

This need for a Muslim to lie comes from Sura 3:28 in the Quaran which says;

“Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends rather than believers; and whoever does this, he shall have nothing of (the guardianship of) Allah, but you should guard yourselves against them, guarding carefully“.

The word for ‘guard‘ or ‘guarding‘ in this passage is defined in al-Bukhari (a hadith ) that ‘believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly” and “we smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them“.

The practice of taqiya falls under a section of Islamic law with regards to dealing with unbelievers. For Sunnis (that represent 90% of all Muslims, a person who feels their faith may be jeopardized in any way they can lie to “conceal their faith” / what they believe.

Consider this: in the face of those that say 90% of Muslims say they are peaceful, 100% of those are permitted to lie to “conceal their faith”.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Israel

Hamas, is a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, founded during the first Intifada in 1987. Consistent with the tactics of the Muslim Brotherhood, it became popular with the Arab Palestinians initially because of its charitable activities in Gaza — and like its parent organization, used its charitable works to indoctrinate the Arab Palestinian Muslims by means of its propaganda.

Hamas took over leadership in Gaza after Fatah lost the parliamentary elections of 2006. Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip and violently removed Fatah officials by throwing them off buildings and executing them in front of their wives and children, by means of a bullet to the head. The result was the de facto division of Gaza governed by Hamas and the ‘West Bank’ governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Hamas, like its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood is dedicated to the establishment of the caliphate, which ultimately involves conquest of the entire Middle East (including Muslim countries that do not impose Sharia law) as well as the eradication of the state of Israel, replacing it with Muslim rule and Sharia law. For Hamas, their role entails the elimination of the state of Israel.

Interestingly, according to many Muslim Brotherhood leaders, the very seat of the caliphate must be Jerusalem (which leads many evangelical Christians to postulate a link to end-time events and the rise of the anti-Christ).

To Islamists / Jihadists, the very idea of a Jewish state, no matter how small is considered a sacrilege and as a result, a so-called “two state solution” is not even an option. So as far as Hamas is concerned, theydo not want a two-state solution, they want the final solution.

Eradication of Israel is their primary goal.

Other Jihadi Groups operating in Israel

There are also other Jihadi groups operating in the ‘West Bank” area under the ignoring eye of the Palestinian Authority, including the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (‘resistance fighters’ of Fatah) and Islamic Jihad.

Islamists / Jihadi Groups and Islamic Doctrine

We’ve heard people assert that the teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Jihadi / Islamist groups such as Hamas lie outside the doctrines of Islamic authoritative texts (Quran, Hadiths), so we would like to highlight just a few here.

1. The highest calling a Muslim can engage in is armed jihad:

According to the Hadith (authoritative Islamic book accompanying the Quran) “Muhammad once was asked: ‘What is the best deed for the Muslim next to believing in Allah and his messenger?’ His answer was: ‘To participate in jihad in Allah’s cause’” (al-Bukhari 1:25).

2. Martyrdom in jihad is considered the highest of goals

“So narrated Anas bin Malik, ‘The prophet said, “Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah …would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it – except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again” (al-Bukhari 51:6).

3. Decapitating unbelievers is totally acceptable in jihad

“When you meet the unbelievers (in battle), strike off their heads; then when you have made wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives. Afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates” (Surah 47:4).

4. Terror is a necessary psychological weapon to intimidate and crush non-Muslims

Allah says, “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every one of their fingertips . . . Strike terror (into the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies” (Surah 8:12, 60).

5. Jihad continues until full world conquest

“Make war on them until idolatry does not exist any longer and Allah’s religion reigns universally” (Surah 8:39).

5. Martyrdom is what mujahidin look forward to

“(For) the believers …theirs (in return) is Paradise. They fight in his cause, so they kill (others) and are killed … (al-Bukhari 51:1). “So narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu’ba, ‘Our prophet told us about the message of Allah that “… whoever amongst us is killed will go to Paradise” (al-Bukhari 51:2).